Originally Posted By FaMulan My husband and I will let our AP's lapse. To use the business term, the return on investment just isn't there anymore. We may renew after Star Wars land is built, we may not. We'll see how we feel at that time.
Originally Posted By ecdc There's a lot of people who feel the same way. I'll be curious to see how you feel about the decision over the next few months--if you miss it, if you change your mind, if you wonder why you waited so long, etc. Keep us posted!
Originally Posted By FaMulan Oh, I know I'll probably miss the Parks. But we can still hit DTD and the Hotels for a mini-fix if needed.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I let mine expire a few years ago and haven't minded at all. I still get to the parks once or twice a year, but the infrequent visits have made it feel special again. After going on a nearly-weekly basis for years, a lot of the excitement had worn off. And now that you'll have some extra free time, you may discover any number of other things in your area that you never knew existed!
Originally Posted By Mr X You know, it's funny but I NEVER bought an AP in all the years I've lived down the street from Tokyo Disneyland (and DisneySea). In a way, it makes the resort more special. We just went there, for dinner the other night. Didn't go into the parks or anything (we surely would have if we'd had the pass), but enjoyed the place for the extras. We go into the parks two or three times a year, usually, and those trips are special. It doesn't hurt that an AP amounts to something like 8 visits per year (MORE for a double pass!), so to justify it we'd have to be going in almost once a month (frankly, that feels like overkill). I hope you enjoy your new perspective, Fa-Mulan...you might just enjoy it! (and aside from the mini-fix, you could always just PAY for one day lol)
Originally Posted By Mr X In fairness, I *did* work there for a long time, so a lot of the "being there" magic is taken care of in the first few weeks of employment. The rest is just icing on the cake...
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I totally understand where you are coming from Mr. X. The fear of WDW no longer being "special" kept my late wife and I from retiring to Florida. (Well, that and hurricanes and hot humid summers and bugs the size of RV's). As much as I enjoy WDW, I think I would get burned out on it pretty quickly. My brother did when he lived in Orlando. When we went to WDW he would come with us to a park, spend a couple of hours there and then want to go home.
Originally Posted By doombuggy We've had AP for almost 2 months now and have gone every single day so far. It's still new to us it's still nice being able to go And not worry about time like back in the days when we were here on trips. Compared to living over a thousand miles away And now only a mile away We're hoping and I'm pretty sure the magic won't Tarnish. But we've said if we get burned out in a year so be it And we'll just get cheaper AP. But after 20 years I can totally understand how you feelAnd that's a pretty good run. Maybe alternate skip a year renewal year?
Originally Posted By oneyepete I owned an PAP for several years and would visit DL about every other month. Most of the time by myself because I was traveling by motorcycle. I didn't renew two price changes ago. Now I go two maybe three times a year and only when there is a race to be run. Oh the other places I've been.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan FaMulan -- I'm curious what changed for you after 20 years, why the ROI is no longer there? I would guess that for most guests, overcrowding is the thing that has dampened enthusiasm about the parks for longtime APers. Is that it? Or something more?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>Now I go two maybe three times a year and only when there is a race to be run.<< This sounds like my exact story. Heck, it seems like a lot of time (particularly for the DLR races due to travel constraints and other commitments in the area) I don't even make it into the parks, though I try to get them on at least one trip a year. For the most part I still feel like the races are worth the premium and are enjoyable with some frequency, but I'm also really enjoying taking a (relative) break from the parks themselves You doing any of the races coming up soon? I'll be in WDW for Star Wars and DLR for Tink
Originally Posted By iamsally >>>Oh the other places I've been.<<< The DH and I have discovered Death Valley. We also have had to fit annual trips to Michigan since our son and family moved. And we still go to Seattle once or twice a year. We will only get AP's again if we know there will be multiple visits in a year and that will be centered around grandchildren. Otherwise, we have found the price to be prohibitive. But we never ever got bored. I would love to go every day for a year if we lived that close. I do hope you use your time (and money)to discover new adventures.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I guess people who go all the time are there more to soak up the ambiance than to experience attractions. My longest trip to WDW was for 10 days. Frankly, by the ninth day we were tired of going to the parks and just hung out at our hotel except for going to have dinner in the World Showcase and see Illuminations at night (we had annual passes). Our next visit to WDW will be for 7 days but we only plan to be in the parks 2 or 3 days. With close to 30 visits over the past 25 years there just aren't that many "must do" attractions for me any more. That combined with the constantly increasing expense of tickets and food in the parks make me more than satisfied to spend fewer days there. For ambiance we really love the Wilderness Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Just being there makes for a very pleasant vacation... with or without the parks.
Originally Posted By oneyepete "You doing any of the races coming up soon? I'll be in WDW for Star Wars and DLR for Tink" We just did DL Star Wars . Will be there for DL Tink and in Sept for the DL half. "I do hope you use your time (and money)to discover new adventures." Last summer I did a 32 day, 35 state, 11,518 mile motorcycle trip; going from San Diego to Key West to Bangor Maine to Washington State and home.
Originally Posted By iamsally Yes, RT, having an annual pass and extended trip (our longest being 2 weeks) makes for a very relaxed, take time to people watch attitude. Many attractions are secondary. We generally get them all in and rarely wait in lines. Sounds great oneye. We drove to Michigan and camped in a tent last summer. Saw a lot of country we had never seen. Unfortunately it had to be a rush and we really hope to have more time to sight-see on future trips.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>We've had AP for almost 2 months now and have gone every single day so far.<< I'm genuinely curious about this. Presumably you've gone only a couple of hours each day, perhaps longer on weekends. Have you divided up what you've done? Have you spent money on food and souvenirs each day or only some days? Help a non-local out: what does owning an AP and going everyday look like?
Originally Posted By FaMulan 2oony, We decided to not renew for several reasons. One of them is the construction. Another is the crowds. There just isn't really on Off-season anymore when you had short lines for attractions and were stress-free after walking up Main Street after a work day. Then there is the portion of AP holders who behave poorly thereby tarnishing the rest who don't. Also, we don't habitually do the character photo-ops, so the "olive branch" of photopass means nothing to us. We'd rather the benefits of our now discontinued Premium AP. I think we'll take the time of construction for Star Wars land off and get them again after it opens. Maybe at a lower level, though I'm not a fan of blackout dates.
That is part of it 2oony. We really began to miss what used to be the quiet times. I really miss the time between Halloween and the Thanksgiving when they used to decorate the Parks for fall instead of going straight into Christmas.
